Mark Pascale – författare

The extraordinary life of a captivating American artist, beautifully illustrated with his dreamlike drawingsMuch of Joseph Elmer Yoakum’s story comes from the artist himself—and is almost too fantastic to believe. At a young age, Yoakum (1891–1972) traveled the globe with numerous circuses; he later served in a segregated noncombat regiment during World War I before settling in Chicago. There, inspired by a dream, he began his artistic career at age seventy-one, producing some two thousand drawings over a decade. How did Yoakum gain representation in major museum collections in Chicago and New York? What fueled his process, which he described as a “spiritual unfoldment”? This volume delves into the friendships Yoakum forged with the Chicago Imagists that secured his place in art history, explores the religious outlook that may have helped him cope with a racially fractured city, and examines his complicated relationship to African American and Native American identities. With hundreds of beautiful color reproductions of his dreamlike drawings, it offers the most comprehensive study of the artist’s work, illuminating his vivid and imaginative creativity and giving definition and dimension to his remarkable biography.Distributed for the Art Institute of ChicagoExhibition Schedule:The Art Institute of Chicago(June 12–October 18, 2021)Museum of Modern Art, New York(November 28, 2021–March 18, 2022)Menil Collection, Houston(April 22–August 7, 2022)

An engaging investigation of contemporary Brazilian artist Lygia Pape’s early body of woodblock prints, which profoundly influenced the trajectory of her oeuvreOne of Brazil’s best-known contemporary artists, Lygia Pape (1927–2004) was a founding member of the Neo-Concrete movement in the late 1950s along with artists such as Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica. Pape explored new visual languages in painting, performance, printmaking, and sculpture, and her work—much of it based in geometry—invited viewers to participate in the existential, sensorial, and psychological experience of her art.Presenting the first in-depth treatment of the experimental woodblock prints Pape made between 1952 and 1960, this volume examines the foundational role these works played in the rest of Pape’s career, foreshadowing her philosophy of “magnetized space.” Composed of overlapping geometric and linear elements that at times suggest atomic particles or slides of microscopic specimens, Pape’s prints display an extraordinary depth accentuated by her use of incredibly thin, translucent Japanese papers. The artist applied the title Tecelares to these works decades after their creation. Loosely translated as “weavings,” the term captures Pape’s uniquely handmade approach to printmaking. Lavishly illustrated, this study is filled with revealing insights into how the artist’s printmaking aesthetic, materials, and process embody her core ideas about art.  Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago  Exhibition Schedule:Art Institute of Chicago(February 11–June 5, 2023)

A deep look at Christina Ramberg’s life and work, the origins of her influential investigations of form and femininity, and the evolution of her artistic vision  Christina Ramberg (1946–1995) first gained renown for her acrylic-on-board paintings from the 1960s and 1970s that feature stylized fragments of female figures. Often associated with Chicago Imagism, Ramberg’s distinct linear approach was informed by a wide range of popular and art-historical sources, resulting in works that are both highly polished and grippingly enigmatic. The first comprehensive consideration of the artist since her death, this study considers the full scope of her practice—from her intimate early scrapbooks and drawings to her late-career geometric abstractions—and includes the first substantive discussion of her often-overlooked quiltmaking. Essays from both scholars and artists situate Ramberg within her Chicago-based network of colleagues and approach her work from a variety of perspectives, such as gender and sexual identity, the body and disability studies, artistic craft, canon formation, and pedagogical practice. Featuring never-before-published diaries, sketchbooks, slides, and ephemera, this lavishly illustrated volume provides an unprecedentedly full picture of Ramberg’s lifelong fascination with patterns and formal variation and her impact on the art of the twentieth century.Distributed for The Art Institute of Chicago   Exhibition schedule:  The Art Institute of Chicago(April 20–August 11, 2024)   Hammer Museum, Los Angeles(October 6, 2024–January 5, 2025)   Philadelphia Museum of Art(February 8–June 1, 2025)

Explore how postwar artists used drawing to experiment, innovate, and challenge conventions in this richly illustrated celebration of conceptual art on paperOver the last five decades, Chicagoan Irving Stenn Jr. has assembled a remarkable collection of twentieth-century art. Working alongside Art Institute of Chicago curators and other experts, Stenn acquired works by leading artists of the post–World War II period, from Josef Albers and Mel Bochner to Sol LeWitt, Kazimir Malevich, Hélio Oiticica, and less well-known artists. This richly illustrated volume features works from Stenn’s transformative gift to the museum, offering an intimate exploration of twentieth-century drawing at its most adventurous and spanning Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimalism, and Post-Minimalism.As a foundational group of conceptual drawings, these works reveal drawing as a vital site of experimentation and innovation in postwar art. A never-before-published transcript of a lecture-performance by the late artist Mel Bochner playfully engages with key artists and works in the collection. Through more than 300 color illustrations, readers encounter both celebrated masterworks and overlooked gems that demonstrate the enduring power of drawing as an artistic medium.Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago

A fascinating glimpse into the creative process of a major contemporary sculptor, featuring many previously unseen works on paperAmerican sculptor Martin Puryear (b. 1941) creates work that combines the clean elegance of minimalism and the simplicity of traditional materials. His stunning sculptures explore themes of identity, ethnicity, and history, and are rich with social and cultural commentary. Puryear, who is known for abstract, large-scale pieces in wood, stone, and bronze, has captured the attention of the art world for the past 30 years. Despite the apparent simplicity of his works, however, he engages in an extensive iterative process that has, until now, been unknown.  Martin Puryear: Multiple Dimensions explores that process, featuring numerous drawings, prints, and small-scale sculptures that have never before been published. This catalogue is the first to examine Puryear’s work across media, providing invaluable insight into his visual thinking, from sketches to working drawings and constructions for sculpture. Handsomely illustrated with nearly 120 color plates that demonstrate the evolution of Puryear’s ideas between drawings, prints, and sculptures, this beautiful volume draws back the curtain on the methodology of this important and enigmatic artist. Distributed for the Art Institute of ChicagoExhibition Schedule:Morgan Library and Museum(10/09/15–01/10/16)The Art Institute of Chicago(02/07/16–05/01/16)Smithsonian American Art Museum(05/27/16–09/06/16)